Police arrest man with gun at restaurant after community member tip-off

Police recovered a loaded, semi-automatic 9mm handgun from a man standing at the counter of a downtown Berkeley restaurant on the evening of Feb. 14. Photo: Berkeley Police Department

Berkeley Police detained a man with a gun visible in his rear pants pocket in a downtown Berkeley restaurant on the evening of Saturday, Feb. 24. The arrest was made thanks to a tip from an alert member of the community.

According to a BPD message issued around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, a member of the public called BPD dispatch on Saturday at 6:16 p.m. to report seeing a man, with a pistol in his back pocket, in line at a restaurant on the 2100 block of Shattuck Avenue The man was described as looking Hispanic, in his 20s, with neck and hand tattoos, wearing a black hoodie and black jeans.

Two BPD officers and a supervisor arrived on scene minutes later, said BPD, and found a similarly described subject standing inside the business at the counter. The subject, Ernest Ochoa-Tavares, 26, of Oakland, was detained in handcuffs without incident.

Once safely in handcuffs, officers recovered a loaded, semi-automatic 9mm handgun. Ochoa-Tavares was booked into the BPD jail for carrying a loaded firearm in public and for carrying a concealed firearm, both misdemeanors.

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